Shutterbug's Cornucopia of One-Shot Procrastination Drabbles
by Shutterbug5269
Summary: This will be my repository of one-shot drabbles based on Tumblr gifs and other sources that strike my fancy. Basically when I need a break from my regular work the one shots I write will go here. Tentatively rated T but might go up to M if certain conditions occur.
1. Chapter 1

_****Author's Note** This first one is based on a gifset on Tumblr by "Walking on Fire" AU: Castle and Beckett meet when Detective Castle transfers in from the LAPD and is assigned the desk across from his new partner Detective Beckett.  
><strong>_

**Partners**

May 21st 2011

Richard Castle stepped off of the elevator, wearing a crisp suit, (his best one, the one he usually reserved for greeting VIP's) a messenger bag slung over one shoulder, and his Sig Sauer P-226 riding his hip in the quick draw holster as he stepped into the 12th Precinct for the very first time.

He had signed in at the front desk and been given a visor's pass so he knew he would be expected, he was not surprised when a female officer in her late forties whose name plate under her badge read _Velasquez_ approached him.

"You Detective Castle?" she asked in a no-nonsense manner, thus far she did not seem impressed.

Rick pulled his badge from his jacket pocket and opened it.

"Yeah, Richard Castle, LAPD Homicide." He said with a smile. He'd worked Hollywood division and he certainly knew how to make a first impression. It felt weird to him, however knowing it would likely be the last time he would ever say those precise words in that exact order ever again.

His warm friendly demeanor seemed to have the desired effect and put Officer Velasquez almost immediately at ease. There was a reason he'd been good at working murder cases in Hollywood, he knew how to talk to people.

"Captain Montgomery is expecting you," she offered with a smile, "right this way."

"I've heard good things about you, Detective Castle." Montgomery offered after shaking hands and exchanging the usual pleasantries, "I was actually surprised that the LAPD was willing to let go of somebody with your exemplary record."

For the first time since walking in the door of the 12th Castle frowned. "Death threats tend to re-arrange ones priorities." Castle replied. "I'm a single father and I have a daughter to think of."

"Yeah." Montgomery agreed, looking down at the photos of his own children spread across the front of his desk. "Not that I'm complaining, but why New York?"

"I have family here, my mother, to be exact." Castle replied, "Needed to be off the west coast as quickly as possible, best to have someplace to go."

"Indeed." Montgomery replied. Deciding to drop what he could already tell was a sensitive subject for his newest detective, he reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out an NYPD detective's shield along with a Glock 19 and a small stack of paperwork.

"You can keep the Glock." Castle stated up front, "I filed all the paperwork to keep my current sidearm, though I imagine I will still have to re-qualify before I hit the streets."

Montgomery returned the Glock to his desk drawer along with the paperwork for that, and received the signed and notarized forms Castle handed him. He then accepted the LAPD badge from Castle before rising to his feet.

"Raise your right hand and repeat after me." he stated, waiting for Castle to comply, which he did then quoted him the oath of office that every NYPD officer took when they first received their shield, to which Rick replied;

"I, Richard Alexander Castle, do solemnly swear to support and uphold the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of New York, and the Charter of the City of New York, and to faithfully discharge the duties as a police officer of the New York City Police Department to the best of my ability, so help me God."

When Castle was done speaking, Montgomery handed him the gold shield of an NYPD Detective first class.

"Welcome to the NYPD and the 12th Precinct, Detective Castle." Montgomery said almost solemnly, before clapping him on the back and leading him out into the squad room and pointing out an empty desk. "I'm pairing you up with Detective Beckett, she's finishing up with an interrogation and will be out soon, have a seat, make yourself comfortable and get started on your entrance paperwork."

"Detective Beckett?" Castle asked.

"Yes, she's your equal in rank, Castle, but make no mistake she is the one in charge of this team. She's the best homicide I ever trained."

"Fair enough." Castle replied, as his eye wandered over the family of ceramic elephants on her desk. He'd been in charge of his own homicide unit back in L.A., but was well aware that even though his rank had transferred over, he would have to prove himself here too. It would have been no different had his and Beckett's places been reversed. He could respect that.

When the Captain returned to his office, presumably to try to get in touch with Detective Beckett, Castle set about personalizing his work space. From his messenger bag, he produced a photo of his daughter Alexis, who had taken all of her exams early so she wouldn't have to deal with school until fall when she would be starting her freshman year at Marlowe Prep. Followed by a photo of the three of them taken in happier times at his mother's house in the Hampton's and the name bracelet Alexis had made him in the third grade.

He had no sooner finished filling out all of his NYPD transfer forms, insurance paperwork and logged into the system to reset his password and schedule himself for time in the shooting range for his pistol qualification when the most beautiful woman he had ever seen (and he had spent the last five years as a detective in Hollywood surrounded by models and starlets so that was saying something) sat down at the desk across from his, she did not look happy to see him.

Captain Montgomery appeared as if out of thin air.

"Kate Beckett, meet your new partner, Richard Castle. He just transferred here from LAPD Homicide."

"Welcome to the 12th," Kate grumbled with a smile that Castle could tell was not genuine as she reached across their desks to shake his hand before looking up at Montgomery, "Sir, can we speak privately?"

"Nope." Montgomery replied, "Beckett, I know you didn't want a partner, especially after the way your last one worked out, but this comes straight from the Chief of D's office. Detective Castle's closure rate is almost as good as yours but due to uncontrollable, unforeseen circumstances he had to vacate California, and we are lucky to have him. But regardless of what the brass wants, this is my house and I want him paired with my best.

"Yes sir." Kate replied, before she eyes the photos on Castle's desk.

After the captain left Castle looked her in the eye before speaking, something very few of her other male partners had ever done before, nearly every one had to be coaxed up to meet her eyes instead of her open collar or the curves pushing against her sweater.

"I don't mean to be a bother, Beckett." He said simply. "I didn't exactly leave California by choice."

Kate felt more than a little guilty for making him feel unwelcome, she'd heard the scuttlebutt in the break room about the new detective from the LAPD. How he and his family had received death threats after one of his cases had gone south and attempt had already been made on his daughter. He had enough bullshit to deal with already. If somebody had made an attempt on her dad she didn't know what she'd do. This time she offered him a softer, more genuine smile.

"It's not your fault, Castle," she offered, "my last partner was a jerk."

It would be a while before she went into detail about how Tom Demming had basically treated her like a piece of meat simply because they had found some mutual attraction after a sparring match early on in their partnership and foolishly acted on it later at his place. It had been fun for a day or two, but then he'd thought that their "friends with benefits" arrangement had given him the right to take certain... _liberties_ with where he put his hands at work, even after she'd broken it off.

She'd rebuffed him every time, but couldn't prove he'd done anything. Even after she'd come close to breaking two of his fingers. After nearly a month of harassment, Captain Montgomery had witnessed the last one and sent Demming packing off to Robbery Division with a grade reduction for conduct unbecoming and an admonition never to show his face in his house again. It was the best he could have done without dragging her reputation through the mud in the process. Ryan and Esposito had tuned Demming up in the parking lot an hour later, nobody had seen a thing then either. Demming certainly got the message.

She wasn't about to go into that much detail about that until she got to know Castle a little better, but it was obvious that Montgomery thought he could be trusted, or he would not have put him in the same building with her, much less pair them up, so she would give the man a chance. She owed Roy that much trust for always looking out for her.

Her reverie was quickly broken by the phone on her desk and she was all business when she answered.

"Beckett..."

When she hung up, she rose to her feet in her four-inch heeled biker boots and reached for her coat.

"We've got a murder at Fifth and Lex." she stated at his questioning look on her way to the elevator, before stopping to turn around,

"You coming Castle?"

"Always." Castle replied, dumping his messenger bag in his bottom desk drawer, reaching for his own jacket and sliding the still unfamiliar badge onto his belt. He wasn't sure what he'd just done right, but he was willing to roll with it.

If Kate Beckett was half the Detective he had heard about when he'd requested the 12th Precinct, they were going to do amazing things together. He wished he'd known somebody half as interesting when he'd tried his hand at writing, from what he'd seen so far, she was... extraordinary.

This was gonna be one hell of a partnership.


	2. The Gift

**The Gift**

_Sleep my child and peace attend thee,  
>All through the night<br>Guardian angels God will send thee,  
>All through the night<br>Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,  
>Hill and dale in slumber sleeping<br>I my loved ones' watch am keeping,  
>All through the night <em>

All Through the Night: Traditional Welsh/Irish lullaby

Johanna Lee Castle slipped quietly into the world on December 18th 2015 a full month early.

Kate had been on desk duty, but she'd been grabbed by a suspect in a last-ditch bid for escape when she'd been waiting by the elevator to go home. Not one to be taken without a fight, Kate had sprung into action almost without thought and took the guy down with a well-placed kick to the kneecap, but shortly afterward she began bleeding and had been rushed to Presbyterian hospital and gave birth via emergency C-section an hour later with her husband Richard Castle fretting for her the entire time.

Though she had come into the world weighing barely five pounds, both mother and child were deemed to be healthy, which filled both Rick and Kate with great relief. Kate had been discharged an hour later, but they had needed to keep little Johanna for a few days for observation.

Kate was a wreck after giving birth. Wracked with guilt that she had hurt her baby by grappling with the suspect, rather than letting the other cops in the precinct talk him down and it had taken every ounce of persuasion Rick had to get her to come home with him the next morning to take care of herself.

Only his solemn word of honor that they would be back as soon as she got some sleep and something to eat along with a promise from Lanie and Alexis to stay and keep an eye on the baby did Kate finally relent. True to his word, Rick brought Kate back every day to hold her and check on her progress.

It wasn't until Christmas Eve that little Johanna was finally released to go home with them. She was so tiny that she looked like a doll in Kate's hands, barely making a sound, not even a cry when she fussed to be fed. But she was finally home, cradled safely in her mother's arms where she belonged.

The presents under the tree sat forgotten until nearly noon, so completely was everyone in the Castle family smitten with their newest arrival. Bright green eyes regarded the world when they were open beneath even brighter terra cotta hair. Rick could not help but compare her to Alexis as a baby, making his older daughter blush as she bonded with her baby sister, only the second person whom Kate had willingly handed Johanna off to since they'd come home.

Their little Christmas miracle.

Best. Christmas. Ever.


	3. The Dawn Will Come

**The Dawn Will Come**

Alexis Castle sat alone in the hospital waiting room, cradling her baby sister with only two uniformed Police officers for company while she waited for updates on her father and Kate. They had both come in nearly blue from cold, and though the doctors had been able to get their core body temperatures back to within acceptable levels, neither of them had awakened.

Their doctor would not allow her to bring an infant into the ICU and there was no one around she felt comfortable leaving Johanna with under the circumstances, so a quick view of their adjoining beds from the doorway was all she had been able to get of them.

They had gone out dressed to the nines as the guests of honor for a New Year's Eve party thrown by Mayor Weldon. "Uncle Rob" was still trying trying to get back in their good graces after the whole _"banning him from the precinct" _thing the previous year. He'd bowed to political pressure from the District Attorney who had clearly had an ax of her own to grind. It had been almost pathetic to watch really.

When they hadn't come back the next morning a search for them had begun. Kate never missed a night feeding no matter how neck-deep in a case she got. In spite of her insecurities early on, Kate had turned out to be twice the mother her own had been, nothing kept her from her child.

Their town car had been found earlier this evening, half submerged in one of the ponds in a secluded section of Central Park. Their driver was dead with a gunshot wound in the forehead and they'd been handcuffed together to the back seat of the car soaking wet and left to die. It was only by a twist of fate that the car hadn't rolled all the way in. After hitting the water, a rock barely the size of her hand had stopped the submerged front wheel.

The doctors had done everything that could be done. When Doctor Anderson had come out, he'd said that they'd done all they could over the last few hours to get their core body temperatures back up. The rest would be up to them. Of course, with her smaller, leaner frame they were more concerned about Kate than dad, but he'd given up a lot of body heat in the vain attempt to keep her warm. They would keep them under careful observation, then wait and see what the morning brought.

Johanna began to fuss as she roused from sleep, then began to cry.

Alexis was close to tears herself as she coiled up with her infant sister on the comfortable couch of the ICU waiting room, close to tears herself as she rocked the baby in her arms, trying everything she could to soothe her. She hummed a tune that seemed vaguely familiar... from a video game her dad had become obsessed with during the time he'd been banned from the precinct last year. It was stupid... from a game she had only played once or twice with her dad to keep him company so he wouldn't drive himself to distraction waiting for the phone to ring and praying it wouldn't while he couldn't be out there with Kate to make sure she came home to their family every night.

Any thought of nursery rhymes had abandoned Alexis, but the words to this song spoke to her tonight of all nights as she began to sing softly while rocking her baby sister in her arms.

"_Shadows fall, and hope has fled  
>Steel your heart, the dawn will come<br>The night is long, and the path is dark  
>Look to the sky, for one day soon<br>The dawn will come"  
><em>

Kate's phone had still been in her hand, her whole body seemingly curled around it when they'd been found. In a city the size of New York, how had there been no signal? The one, half minute call they had gotten out had been barely been long enough for Tory to narrow down a search grid. Upon forensic examination, the last thing viewed on it had been a video of her holding Johanna, making her laugh for the camera while dad had cooed at her from off screen. Dad had sent it to her on her first day back from maternity leave to bolster her spirits.

Alexis tried not to imagine what her dad and Kate must have been through, trapped in the car, slowly freezing to death. Neither of them knowing if they would live to see her or Johanna again. Waiting for help that almost hadn't come in time, while Alexis had been in their nice warm house, angry that they hadn't called to say they'd gotten a hotel or something.

_"The shepherd's lost, and his home is far  
>Keep to the stars, the dawn will come<br>The night is long, and the path is dark  
>Look to the sky, for one day soon<br>The dawn will come"  
><em>

She thought about all of the times the two of them had been in danger in the past. Then her thoughts strayed to Ryan and Esposito who were out there in the black of night searching for the hired assassin who had tried to kill them. She hoped he chose not to be taken alive, that he died in a hail of gunfire.

_"Bare your blade, and raise it high  
>Stand your ground, the dawn will come<br>The night is long, and the path is dark  
>Look to the sky, for one day soon<br>The dawn will come" _

She knew the doctor would be in to see her soon. He'd said their prognosis was fair, that they only needed to give them time to wake up. The night was long and dark now, but soon the dawn would come.

It had to.

_****Author's note** I had originally written this on Christmas eve, but I thought it was far too dark right before Christmas, not to mention the whole "Belly of the Beast" scenario I'd originally had in mind was a bit too contrived. But a Bracken vengeance attempt? That seemed like a better story in the light of day. **_

_**Yes, I admit it, I am playing Dragon Age: Inquisition and wanted to use that song in a fic. Blame my nephew Zack, (whom I've been playing video games with since he was 4) he got me hooked on it. You guys have to deal with the fallout.**_

_**I'll try to make the next one a bit lighter, promise.**_

_**Mark**_


	4. Making Amends

**Making Amends**

_**Takes place in 7x11 between Gates kicking Rick out of the precinct and the scene in Rick's office**_

* * *

><p>Kate Beckett sat at her desk staring at Rick's chair, feeling incredibly guilty.<p>

She'd treated Rick abysmally lately...not to mention let other people do it, but he'd come through for her anyway, her partner in crime and in life, even though they both knew that she had violated his trust in a way she would not have tolerated had their positions been reversed.

She'd let Ryan and Esposito goad her into siding with them against Rick in a one-sided competition to solve their case before him. Even though she'd told Esposito from the beginning that Castle was only trying to feel close to her by using his newly acquired private investigator's license to carry out a parallel investigation.

But then Castle had seemed to be one step ahead of them at every turn. It got ugly after that.

* * *

><p>At Ryan and Espo's insistence she'd tried to ply her husband with alcohol and seduce him to get at what he knew. Something he'd caught on to right away and even managed to turn the tables playfully on her. But he'd played along anyway, because he would never have believed she would leave him with nothing... the very thing she'd ended up doing to him.<p>

They'd built theory...something they hadn't done in weeks...which predictably led them to the bedroom, but as soon as Rick's back was turned she'd betrayed his trust, given what he'd worked so hard to find to Ryan and left him with nothing to show for his efforts. They'd all felt pretty proud of themselves...at first, perfectly okay with treating the man she loved like a disposable resource, she'd even taunted him about their theory building being a _"one time thing"_ on her way out the door.

To add insult to injury, they had almost used what she'd learned from him to railroad an innocent man.

* * *

><p>Even though she had abused his trust and violated the spirit of their wedding vows, he'd come to the precinct of his own free will to prevent her from carrying out a gross miscarriage of justice. Providing not just irrefutable evidence they had the wrong man, but purring them on the right track to find the actual killer.<p>

Even though he'd broken the case wide open, he didn't gloat, or call them out on it. Not once did he throw what she'd done in her face, nor make even a passing reference to the shameful way she'd soiled the beautiful thing they'd done last night.

Kate had no doubt in her mind now that everything he'd found would have been hers for the asking if she'd been honest with him and treated him with the respect she knew he deserved. This wasn't DC, she wasn't dealing with top secret government matters requiring a security clearance anymore. Not even the Mayor of New York could lawfully order her not to talk to her own husband about her workday.

Gates knew full well if she tried, her shield and gun would be on her desk before the words were fully out of her mouth.

From the beginning, Rick only wanted to feel like he'd been helping her find the story that made the evidence make sense... and she'd cheapened it for no other reason than the boys were afraid he'd show them up. The great Detective Kate Beckett had to prove that she didn't need Rick to do her job. Had her vows at their wedding meant so little to her when his back was turned?

The look on Rick's face when Captain Gates had sent him packing not long ago had spoken volumes. That he'd felt used and brushed aside by the very people he thought he could trust was as plain as the nose on his face. There was only one way Kate could think of to even begin to make this whole sordid affair up to him. She knew he would likely go back to his new office to sulk without dragging Alexis and Martha into it, so she pulled some strings and made an appointment for him there.

Rick had worked so hard to make sure the real killer would be caught and punished, that justice would be done for the victim and those who loved her. It wasn't quite enough, but the very least she could do was let him be there when she slapped the cuffs on.

* * *

><p><em><strong>**Author's note** 7x11 was a delightful romp, considering Rick had been banned from working cases, but there was just something about the way Kate treated Rick throughout that simply stuck in my craw. I think she kinda figured out what she was doing was wrong after Rick caught on to her obvious ploy with the wine that night in the loft, but it doesn't feel like it really hit her until after Gates sent him packing.<strong>_

_**Rick let her off the hook because he loves her, but something tells me that Kate would not be so quick to forgive herself. Hence this post ep.**_


	5. Facing The Music

_****Author's note** This one off is a continuation of my short story, "Neighbors" You may want to read that one prior to reading this. For those who asked fervently for it, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.  
><strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>Facing the Music<strong>

Though Kate had come to dinner most nights during her convalescent leave, and they had both felt a definite attraction almost from the beginning, they would talk about books and movies, many times finishing each other's sentences in their enthusiasm over a shared topic, but she would always pull back awkwardly at the last moment when it seemed like they might go somewhere. Rick could tell that whatever attraction she was feeling, and he could tell it was there, she was fighting it.

Not long after she had returned to active duty, Kate started coming to dinner less and less frequently, and eventually stopped altogether, letting both his and Alexis' calls go to voice mail without returning them as well. At first Rick had assumed her cases had been keeping her up at all hours, and he didn't want to pry. He recalled from his own childhood how little he had seen of his own mother when she was in a production after he had gotten old enough to look after himself.

It was like she had been going to some lengths to avoid them, though and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. He was certain that he had overcome the negative image of him as a playboy that Gina and Paula insisted sold more books. Though she hid it well, he could tell that Alexis didn't understand either. It was like Meredith all over again, Alexis put her heart out there and Kate had left her in the cold too.

At their next poker game a few weeks ago he had learned from Captain Montgomery that she'd started dating a Detective Demming from Robbery Division. Though Roy had tried to sound non-committal about the whole thing, it was clear that he didn't like the guy.

Rick steered clear since then, not wanting to complicate matters for her further, but with every tidbit he heard, he became more and more concerned for Kate, her relationship with this guy did not sound healthy, but there was little he could do, other than pray he was wrong.

He'd put in an appearance at _"The Old Haunt"_ playing bartender last night and overheard a pair of detectives from her unit at the end of the bar complaining about a robbery detective Beckett was seeing who kept showing up at the precinct, trying to interject himself between them and Beckett.

The Captain had sent the man packing once or twice. They'd overheard him arguing with Kate about all the men she worked with and how close-knit she was with them more than once, but this time he'd managed to screw up one of their cases by trying to insinuate himself into an interrogation. Kate had finally had her fill and sent him packing shortly after that.

By what he'd overheard, it hadn't been pretty.

* * *

><p>Castle and his daughter were only riding the elevator to her floor now, because Alexis' birthday was coming and she wanted Kate to come to her sweet sixteen party. Meredith had already promised to come, and then begged off because of a movie role, and he couldn't think of a reason not to invite Kate. Alexis was getting her hopes up, possibly too much, he only hoped she didn't get her heart broken... again.<p>

The two of them could hear the pounding and yelling out in the hall before the elevator doors could open on her floor.

"Call Eduardo and stay back until he gets here, Pumpkin." Rick whispered before he rounded the corner, to find an obviously intoxicated man pounding on Kate's door.

"Come on Kate, let me in!" He slurred between repeated pounding, "I told you I was sorry I messed up things for you at work."

"Go away Tom!" came Kate's shouted response through the door, "That wasn't the only reason I told you we were done and you damned well know it."

This only seemed to anger the man further, who looked like he was winding up to kick in the door, when Eduardo rounded the corner, Alexis hot on his heels, and Rick stepped in to intervene.

"I don't know who you are friend," Castle stated loudly, "but I believe Detective Beckett told you you to leave."

Demming rounded on him, "I'm a cop," he slurred menacingly, "this is between myself and my girlfriend, so buzz off."

"I don't see a badge, smart guy." Castle replied sharply, "The lady clearly doesn't want you around, building security is here and I'm not gonna ask you nicely to leave again."

"Hey Kate!" Demming shouted, "This the guy you're whoring around on me with now?"

"Kate is not a whore!" Alexis shouted angrily, stepping around her father, and Demming pushed her away before she could slap him. She hit the wall with a squeak, much harder than was necessary, and that was all it took, Rick dropped him with a right cross, sending him to the floor.

Demming came back up, ready to fight. Before he could do much else, a commanding voice roared from behind them.

"Get out of here, Tom! _Right now_!" Kate commanded, her service weapon drawn and pointed at the floor, glaring fiercely.

Demming shrank back as if burned, he was about to say something when Kate interrupted him.

"I called Captain Montgomery, Tom," Kate stated with cold authority, her eyes on fire with rage at the sight of Alexis sitting with her back against the wall, holding her arm whimpering, and Rick glaring at her _very _former boyfriend with murderous intent. "think _very_ carefully about your next move here."

Guilt had been gnawing at Kate's insides for weeks for shutting the two of them out as it was. Rick was a good man, better than his page six reputation represented and an even better father. He'd welcomed her into his home as if she was family and had always been a perfect gentleman, never once pushing her for more. Even though it was readily apparent that wanted something more with her. But he made her feel things that scared her, stirring feelings that frightened her. Feelings she had locked away behind solid walls after her mother had died and her father abandoned her to the bottle.

She had used Roy's subterfuge as an excuse to distance herself from them after she'd been cleared for duty and gone back to work. She'd met Tom when he'd challenged her to a sparring session in the precinct gym.

He was the perfect distraction.

He was attractive, fun and more importantly emotionally unavailable. She liked him, the sex was good, but she felt next to nothing for him otherwise and could safely keep that one foot firmly out the door. His jealousy had creeped up on her bit by bit. She'd thought it was cute at first, but he'd become more and more possessive as time went on, jealous even of the men she worked with. He'd become increasingly rough with her during sexual encounters as a result. She'd known for some time that her her days with him were numbered.

He had crossed the line when it began to effect her job, especially the other day when he'd interfered in one of her cases. Their suspect had lawyered up and walked. She had read Tom the riot act and told him they were over not five minutes later. They were done.

She never went back to somebody who hurt or betrayed her this completely. Tom Demming had done both. It was over, but obviously Tom had not taken the hint.

Though Kate had been hesitant to do more than break up with him, Montgomery filed a formal complaint with Robbery Division and Internal Affairs, resulting in his suspension this afternoon. It would seem that he had found solace in strong drink, a trigger he had no clue would turn her off from him like he had the plague.

As if by magic, Montgomery rounded the corner, with Detective Esposito in tow.

"You all right Beckett?" Montgomery asked, voice tinged with concern.

"Yeah, but Castle might want to press charges." Kate replied as Esposito none - too - gently wrestled Tom against the wall. Rick nodded his assent, anger still radiating off from him as he stood between Demming and Alexis, looking like he was ready to take the man's head off.

Montgomery clapped him gently on the shoulder as if to say, _'look after your little girl, we've got this'_

"Esposito, get him out of here," Montgomery said harshly. "let him sleep it off in holding, we'll hand him off to IAB in the morning."

Castle stuck around only long enough for himself and Alexis to give their statements to the Internal Affairs detective, an older African American woman named Gates. He didn't even cast a glance in Kate's direction before he shepherded his daughter, still sniffling and holding her bruised arm around the corner to the elevator.

Kate searched her heart, but in the end decided she couldn't blame Rick for not sticking around. She'd pushed him aside, frozen him and his daughter out for reasons impossible to justify, and taken up with Tom Demming instead. A choice that she really couldn't defend, even in her own head, given his behavior tonight.

It wasn't until everyone finally left an hour later that she noticed the crumpled purple envelope addressed to her on the floor by her doorway where Alexis must have dropped it when Tom slammed her into the wall. Kate nearly wept when she'd read the invitation to her sweet sixteen party. After the way she'd treated them for the last month, Alexis still invited her, had still wanted her there.

A single tear broke loose from her control and traced down her cheek,

Kate felt like such a fool.

_****A/N addendum** Please don't hate me for leaving Caskett here. More to come... promise.**_

_**Abusive relationships are not okay. They are always the fault of the abuser.**_


	6. Facing The Music pt 2

**Face The Music  
>Part Two<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Previously<em>

_It wasn't until everyone finally left an hour later that Kate noticed the crumpled purple envelope addressed to her on the floor by her doorway where Alexis must have dropped it when Tom slammed her into the wall. Kate nearly wept when she'd read the invitation to her sweet sixteen party. After the way she'd treated them for the last month, Alexis still invited her, had still wanted her there._

_A single tear broke loose from her control and traced down her cheek,_

_Kate felt like such a fool. _

* * *

><p><strong>Castle Loft<br>Two Hours Later**

Richard Castle helped Alexis into the loft, having just returned from the emergency room after the incident downstairs with the now former Detective Tom Demming. Rick was thankful that Alexis hadn't been seriously hurt, a bruised shoulder from where she'd hit the wall and a sprained wrist from the fall, but the x-rays had ruled out a hairline fracture. She would need a wrist brace for a few weeks and the doctor had prescribed Tylenol for the pain.

That his baby was in pain at all made Rick's blood boil.

That drunken son of a bitch had hurt his little girl. Rick had called Gina on the way to the emergency room three hours ago, who'd called the lawyers at Black Pawn, who would be contacting the Chief of Detectives in the morning. Demming would not be wearing a badge again anytime soon, at least not in New York that was for sure. Not if he had anything to say about it.

He was generally not given to throwing his weight around - neither publicly nor politically - but when it came to his little girl, Richard Castle became a completely different man. Protecting the people he loves brought out a darker, primal, nearly malevolent side to him.

At his request, Eduardo had checked with the main desk and called around to the other tenants, nobody had buzzed him in. Unsurprising since it would have been hard to come off like an on-duty cop with the amount of alcohol on that man's breath. He must have slipped in behind somebody else. The landlord would certainly be adding a trespassing charge to Demming's list of legal infractions. He'd also gone back through the security footage for the last few weeks, verifying that Kate had never once brought him to the building.

"_Thank God for small favors." _he thought to himself.

The emotional wounds were much deeper though, for both him and Alexis, and had gone back much further than the last few hours. Alexis didn't just feel hurt physically, she felt rejected. Though Rick felt a certain amount of rejection at first because Kate had chosen this man over him, he felt it more keenly for his daughter who had grown attached to Kate

All of this had happened and Kate had not so much as spared a word or a concerned glance in her direction. As bad as he might feel for what Kate was going through, he was still angry with her.

Alexis was still a little wobbly on her feet, so Rick helped her to the couch and settled her down covering her with a blanket.

"Do you need anything, Pumpkin?" Rick asked her, "Are you hungry? I know we missed dinner."

"Yeah" Alexis replied dully, her eyes still locked on the floor, she wasn't feeling hungry, but she knew he would hover and keep asking until she ate something, so she acquiesced. She wanted to be left alone, but she was smart enough to know that wasn't gonna happen. Nor did she really want her father to.

Secretly Rick had hoped Alexis would fight him on it, show at least some of her usual spark, get angry, show that temper redheads were famous for, give him _something_ to work with. Not this emptiness and lack of self-worth Alexis was feeling that tore his insides to shreds.

What had been happening with Kate over the last month had pushed all of his daughter's abandonment issue buttons until he wasn't sure whom he was more angry with: Kate, for walking away like she didn't care and pushing those buttons, or Meredith for abandoning Alexis to further her acting career and putting those buttons there in the first place.

"_How does a father explain to his little girl that mommy loves her job more than her daughter?" _Rick asked himself, and not for the first time since he'd caught Meredith in their bed with her director all those years ago.

"_Does Kate even know what she's done? Does she care?"_

Rick could accept a lot when it came to his own desires. He liked Kate, but they had never crossed the line between friends and something more, it was none of his business whom she dated or slept with.

He'd slept with Meredith... again, (even though he'd long ago accepted that sleeping with her had become more about obliging _her_ sexual needs than his own satisfaction, no matter what spin he put on it) while Kate was with Demming, hoping at least _that_ would keep his ex-wfe interested long enough to stick around for Alexis' birthday, so he certainly felt he had no right to judge Kate on that score alone.

But when it came to his daughter being hurt... that was a bridge too far. That he could not, nor would he ever, easily forgive. If Kate wanted that, she was going to have to work for it.

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile in Kate's apartment<br>One floor down.**

Kate had been pacing inside her apartment for the last three hours, unsure of what she should do. She knew that Rick and Alexis had left the Emergency Room. That they had likely been back for several minutes.

Captain Montgomery had called to tell her that much after he had returned to the precinct to do the paperwork for 1PP. In the same breath, he told her not to come in to work the next day. _She_ wasn't in any trouble, but the appearance of impropriety had to be avoided during the meeting between Montgomery, IAB, Demming and his union rep. An officer under his command, even though he was under suspension for insubordination and conduct unbecoming, had intentionally injured a civilian.

Friend of the father's or not, he had a job to do.

Tom Demming had no idea how much of a hornet's nest he'd kicked open up for himself by sneaking into the building in a drunken stupor to confront her.

She'd seen the look in Javi's eye when he'd taken in the sight of Alexis whimpering on the floor holding her arm. Tom had not endeared himself to anyone on her team since they'd become an item, and the wrist lock Javi gripped Demming in when he'd "perp-walked" her former boyfriend down the hall had looked particularly painful.

"_Good."_ she thought evilly.

She'd been angry enough when she broke up with Tom earlier that day, but she was particularly livid with him now. Had Lt. Gates from Internal Affairs not been present, she was sure it would have been a _lot_ more painful for him.

She'd wanted to kick Tom in the balls with the heaviest pair of biker boots she owned. To be honest, she still did. Javi would have gladly held him up while she did it too, she was sure. The mood Montgomery was in, nobody would have seen _anything_.

Kate had spent most of the time waiting for the Castles to get home smoothing out the invitation to Alexis' sweet sixteen party. It twisted in her guts every time her thoughts wandered to what had brought the two of them to her apartment in the first place that night. Had Tom not shown up to pound on her door, she was certain it would have been a similar scene to the first time she had met them.

Kate remembered the look in Alexis' eyes when the girl had asked her to dinner that first time, how she had been prepared for rejection back then, and it tore her heart to shreds how she must have made the teenager feel, not to mention her father, when she'd pulled away after returning to work.

And yet, in spite of it all, even though she'd gotten scared and run out on them, Alexis hadn't given up on _her_, she had still reached out. Just like she still reached out to the mother who'd run out on her. Alexis Castle had deserved better, so had her father. Kate Beckett knew what she had to do.

She had to try to make this right.

* * *

><p>Alexis had poked and moved the macaroni and cheese her father made her around in the bowl, and even managed to eat a little of it while she and her father sat on the couch. The TV drowned on with some animal documentary on PBS, just on for noise because the silence between them, though comforting in it's own way as he held her after she'd cried herself out, had become too oppressive and neither could find anything to say. There was nothing that could be said and Rick hated that he didn't have the right words to make everything better for her.<p>

_"Only one person does, but will she?" _Rick thought to himself angrily.

His thoughts were interrupted by a tentative knocking on her door.

He got up, reached the door in a few strides and opened it to find Kate standing at his door, hair wet and eyes glistening, looking for all the world like she wanted the earth to swallow her whole.

"What do you want, Beckett?" Rick asked, unable to keep the hurt and anger out of his tone.

"I'm sorry, Castle, I'm so sorry." Kate said, her voice barely above a whisper. She knew she'd really stepped in it this time by running, fleeing from something that would make her happy because she was too afraid to reach for it. Too consumed with her own mother's murder, too afraid that by embracing life, without bringing her mother's killer to justice she would somehow let her down. Too terrified to let anyone in lest they see just how broken and screwed up she felt she was.

"For what?" Castle retorted, "Cutting us out of your life like we never existed, or for your _boyfriend_?"

"All of it, Castle, I'm so sorry!" Kate whispered again Castle could see that apologizing was difficult for her, and he hoped she really meant it, but there was also something he had to say.

"I'm not the only one who got hurt, Beckett." Castle said coldly, "Alexis trusted you, she doesn't do so easily because of her mother, but she got attached to you and you did exactly what Meredith always does. You left _her _in the cold and _me _to pick up the pieces."

Kate opened her mouth to speak, to apologize again, but Castle raised a hand between them.

"Don't, Kate," Castle whispered, "I get it, you're sorry, but I'm not the only one you should be saying it to."

"Daddy?" came Alexis' soft, empty voice from the couch, "Who's at the door?"

Castle held the door open for Kate, and she slipped inside before he closed it.

"Hey, Alexis." Kate whispered.

Alexis looked up at her, something like hope in her eyes, but she quashed it, which crushed Kate's spirit even further, that she'd done this to the girl.

"Hey, you left this for me in person," Kate whispered soothingly, "and I thought I should come over and RSVP in person. I'm so sorry for what I did, running out on you guys like that...and I understand if you've changed your mind...but... if you still want me there, I'd be honored to come."

Alexis swung her good arm out and wrapped Kate in a sideways hug, her eyes watery, her heart opening once again for Kate Beckett. His daughters capacity to forgive on full display. Castle stood still, watching, almost in awe.

In Alexis' entire life Meredith had never once done this, never once ever went out of her way to simply apologize for letting her down. Alexis had given her mother chance after chance, but it was always about her.

It made what Kate did even more extraordinary. Allowed him to forgive her as well.

_"Perhaps," _Castle thought to himself, _"the two of us might have a chance after all."_

* * *

><p><em><strong>**AN ** Obviously, a lot more needs to be said before they get to where our Caskett are, but this is a good enough place for us to leave this AU for now. ** _


End file.
